16th International Symposium on Boat & Ship Archaeology

37 Zadar, Croatia | 26 September – 1 October 2021 Daniel Peter Dalicsek Statens Historiska Museer – Arkeolgoerna, Stockholm, Sweden The shipwrecks of Gothenburg: nine wrecks from the Royal Mast Harbour Since its founding exactly 400 years ago, in 1621, Gothenburg’s history has been connected to transport: first the East India Company and then VOLVO. For a city of such great maritime importance, there were only two shipwrecks discovered in its waters before, the last one in 2001. In 2019-2020 nine shipwrecks were excavated and lifted in the city centre during the archaeological mitigation for a large-scale railroad construction pro- ject. The wrecks date from the late-17 th to the mid-19 th century and range in size from 5 to 25 m. Through their function and construction this new collection of wrecks dis- plays not only shipbuilding history, but the city’s social and economic development. The older vessels provide evidence for Dutch shipbuilding techniques, as the town was first settled by Dutch and German citizens. The later 18 th and 19 th -century wrecks then showcase the Nordic clinker boatbuilding, as the popu- lation changed. The variety in the collection provides not only possible new types, but individual vessels that serve as evidence for boat variants only known from ethnographic records or from successive types. The excellent preservation condi- tions enabled details to be documented that are traces from the sailors and boat builders of Gothenburg. Beside the boatbuilding technology, the wrecks also tell of the economy that drove the town; lighters that unloaded the cargo of the East Indiamen, fishing boats and bulk carriers for timber or grain. The excavations finished in November 2020 and the complete recording of the 1387 ship timbers is ongoing. In late-2021 the last remaining area of the harbour will be excavated with the possibility of another three shipwrecks of 17 th -century date. This paper introduces the excavation and the shipwrecks and discusses these in the wider social and maritime historical context of Gothenburg.